BUILDING BRIDGES 2 / ØKLAND, LUPTÁK, LENKO, DUGOVIČ, RAGAN, NORDLI, KOVACIKOVA

Building Bridges 2023-24 / Slovakia-Norway ▶️ New single out: 21/06/24 🔥 Listen: https://rukahore.ffm.to/buildingbridg... Pre-order on Bandcamp: https://konvergencie.bandcamp.com/alb... 💿 Album release: 12/07/24 🌠 UPCOMING CONCERTS: 🎙️Hlohovec Open rehearsal: 11/07/24 🎙️Pohoda festival, EUrópa stage: 12/07/24, 16:30 PAST CONCERTS: Oslo___7. 11. 2023___Rickscenen Stavanger___8. 11. 2023___Spor 5 Bratislava___19. 09. 2023___Slovak National Gallery Banska Bystrica___23. 05. 2023___Hogo Fogo Jazz&Art Club // Nils ØKLAND (NO) – Hardanger fiddle Jozef LUPTÁK – cello Boris LENKO – accordion, bandoneon, piano Branislav DUGOVIČ – clarinet, bass clarinet Robert RAGAN – double bass Åsne Valland NORDLI (NO), Gabriela KOVÁČIKOVÁ – voice // It was only a matter of time before he joined the Konvergencie Chamber Music Festival. The Norwegian violinist, composer and teacher Nils Økland has received education in classical music but is not afraid to bring different musical worlds closer together. "I'm not focused on one genre. When I was a boy, I played with my uncle folk music to dance; later I became interested in Balkan music and free jazz, and then I played in a punk band. So when I started with the Hardanger violin, I tried to use this instrument simply as an instrument, not faithfully learn the tradition," he says. He also plays the classical violin and viola d'amore, but the Hardanger fiddle is his primary instrument. Nils met Slovak musicians Boris Lenko (accordion) and Brano Dugovic (clarinet) led by Jozef Lupták (cello) last year in Oslo. They immediately found a common musical as well as interpersonal ground. In May, they spent several days together and played their concert “Building Bridges 2” in Banská Bystrica together with guests Robert Ragan (double-bass) and Gabriela Kovacikova (voice). In Bratislava, Oslo and Stavanger the singer Åsne Valland Nordli, a long-term musical colleague and friend of Nils will join them. // The project BUILDING MUSIC BRIDGES - Developing Intercultural Dialogue and Trust through Music benefits from a 'grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants. The project has been co-financed from the State Budget of the Slovak Republic. The aim of the project is to develop intercultural dialogue and communicate the topics of tolerance to minorities, gender equality, neglecting anti-Semitism and hate speech in the society through the art of music. If you want to know more about programmes and projects financed by the EEA Grants in Slovakia, visit www.eeagrants.sk. -- Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe -- #eeagrants #BuildingBridges